KU News Release

Day four of Wheat State Whirlwind Tour starts in Dodge City

LAWRENCE - A busload of nearly 50 University of Kansas faculty and staff members will travel east from Dodge City to Hutchinson, visiting a community college, the home of a famous prohibitionist, the Gypsum Hills and an underground salt museum on Thursday, May 24, day four of the 10th annual Wheat State Whirlwind Tour.

Sponsored by Chancellor Robert Hemenway, the tour introduces faculty and staff, many new to Kansas, to the state's landscape, history and economy.

The day will begin with a visit to Dodge City Community College, where President Richard Burke will meet with the group. Burke will speak about the college's strengths and challenges in providing education for the workforce that will help drive the state's economy.

As the day goes on, the tour will travel to Mullinville. On the outskirts of the Kiowa County town, tour participants will view the kinetic art display by local artist M.T. Liggett. Located on Route 400 just west of town, Liggett's display is of art crafted from brightly colored welded metal depicting snakes, demons and whimsical creatures, many lampooning politicians and others in the public eye.

The bus will turn southeast, taking participants to Medicine Lodge, where Bob Larson of the Gant-Larson Ranch will join the group to lead a tour of the Gypsum Hills, or red-hill region. Larson also will share such history as how Medicine Lodge got its name from Native American legends about the power of the Medicine River to protect the area from prairie fires.

The group will also stop at the Stockade Museum in Medicine Lodge. The museum is a replica of the 1874 stockade and is next door to the home of famous prohibitionist Carry Nation. Nation is best-known for wielding a hatchet and smashing saloons in the early 20th century to voice her opposition to the consumption of alcohol.

From Medicine Lodge, the bus will travel north to Arlington in Reno County for lunch at Carolyn's Essenhaus. Along the way, the group will see the Pratt Fish Hatchery of the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks Management.

On the way to the day's final stop in Hutchinson, the group will visit the headquarters of the Kansas Sampler Foundation in Inman. There participants will meet Marci Penner, a KU alumna who formed the foundation with her father, Mil, in 1993 to preserve Kansas culture and history. She is also the author of “Kansas Guidebook for Explorers.” The book is a guide for travelers to unique attractions, historic architecture and outstanding people in all 105 counties in the state.

In Hutchinson, the travelers will visit the Kansas Underground Salt Museum. The new museum, which opened this month, pays tribute to the area's rich history of salt mining. Unique to Kansas, the facility is still a functioning mine in many places and features a trip through caverns lit only by the tram's headlights and flashlights. An above-ground visitors center and finishing touches on the underground museum will be completed in 2008.

Since Ben Blanchard inadvertently struck salt while looking for oil in 1887, Hutchinson has been known for its salt production. The mine taps the largest salt deposit in the United States, which stretches south into Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico. Today, three salt companies maintain operations in Hutchinson.

The day will conclude with a catered dinner at the Holiday Inn Express in Hutchinson.

The tour will conclude Friday, May 25, with visits to the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center, the Ritchie Ranch in the Flint Hills, Cottonwood Falls and Council Grove.

Itinerary for Thursday, May 24

7:15 a.m. - Depart for Dodge City Community College
7:30 a.m. - Arrive at Dodge City Community College. Talk with Richard Burke, president
8:30 a.m. - Depart for Mullinville (35 miles).
9:05 a.m. - Arrive Mullinville. Observe kinetic art display by M.T. Liggett
9:15 a.m. - Depart for Medicine Lodge (70 miles)
10:30 a.m. - Arrive in Medicine Lodge. Tour Gypsum Hills with Bob Larson, commentator, and Stockade Museum
Noon - Depart for Arlington (66 miles). Point of interest: Pratt Fish Hatchery
1:15 p.m. - Arrive Arlington. Lunch at Carolyn's Essenhaus
2:15 p.m. - Depart for Inman (35 miles)
3 p.m. - Arrive Inman. Talk with Marci Penner, Kansas Sampler Foundation/Penner Farm
3:45 p.m. - Depart for Hutchinson (16 miles)
4:30 p.m. - Arrive in Hutchinson. Tour Underground Salt Museum
6:15 p.m. - Check in at Holiday Inn Express
6:30 p.m. - Catered dinner at hotel
8 p.m. - Return to rooms

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